Upstaged

by Robin Easter (Author)

Upstaged
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

★ "Sharply written and evocative" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This theater camp has plenty of captivating drama both on stage and off!" --Kayla Miller, New York Times bestselling creator of the Click graphic novel series

In a summer of goodbyes and new beginnings, shy Ashton Price hopes to confess to their theater camp crush in this heartfelt middle-grade graphic novel. Perfect for fans of The Tryout and The Girl from the Sea.

This is it: the last hurrah, the final curtain call.

Ever since sixth grade, Ashton Price and their best friend and enduring crush, Ivy Santos, have spent their summers together at theater camp. Now it's their last year before they part ways for high school, and Ash is determined to end it on a high note!

With Ash as stage manager and Ivy the lead in this year's musical, this summer's shaping up to be everything the two could have hoped for. Maybe Ash will even work up the courage to ask Ivy out! But between Ivy rehearsing long hours with her colead and Ash throwing themself into an ambitious stage production, will they end up drifting apart instead?

As summer wanes and September looms, Ash and Ivy's friendship will change forever, one way or another.

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$12.99

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Ash Price has one last summer at theater camp before high school, and they plan to make it perfect by bunking with their best friend, Ivy Santos--the peanut butter to Ash's jelly--and building the perfect set for the upcoming musical. They might even confess their feelings for Ivy. But when the besties are assigned to different cabins and Ivy starts spending more time with her costar and romantic lead Luke, Ash lets their jealousy fester until they can no longer keep their feelings bottled up, culminating in an emotional outburst that impacts everyone around them. Cartoonist Easter (the My Little Pony series) reveals Ash's true feelings via visual internal monologues and b&w journal entries interspersed with full-color panels depicting Ash's life at camp. Detailed backgrounds showcase group dynamics in ensemble scenes and isometric dots highlight close-up character expressions and emotions. Both a love story and a compassionate exploration of a youth learning how to cope with loneliness, this sharply written and evocative graphic novel is deeply grounded in reality even when its characters would rather fantasize about the what-ifs. Ash has teal hair and brown eyes, Ivy has brown skin, and the rest of the cast is portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 7-12. Agent: Britt Siess, Britt Siess Creative. (May)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Robin Easter
Robin Easter is a cartoonist and illustrator who graduated from SCAD with a degree in sequential art. They are also a grown-up theater kid, former camp counselor, and walking encyclopedia of random facts. Robin currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with several plants and their dreams of having a dog.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316429429
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little, Brown Ink
Publication date
May 28, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV008000 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | General
JUV031060 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Theater
JUV060000 - Juvenile Fiction | LGBT
Library of Congress categories
Graphic novels
Love
Camps
Best friends
Cartoons and comics
Gender-nonconforming people
Gender-nonconforming children
Genderqueer comics

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